I just received my first set of Optima checks, which although unsolicited, may provide for additional opportunities to collect points with my American Express. In reading the cover letter that was sent with the checks, the checks may be used in lieu of a credit card or with merchants who do not accept credit cards.

Since I was familiar with this type of scheme with a previous MasterCard I had a number of years ago, I was aware that the use of these checks was considered a cash advance at a considerably higher APR.

I contacted Amex and asked if the use of these checks was considered a merchant sale or cash advance and the CSR indicated that when used with a merchant, it was a sale, however, if I made the check out to myself of another person, that it was a cash advance. In both cases, the APR was only 8.9%, which was a 7 month introductory rate.

The cover letter did indicate that airline miles could not be earned, however, since this is a Sheraton Starpoints card, it may be possible to earn additional Starpoints in the Starwood program by paying for larger items, such as a car payment or maybe even a mortgage payment with the checks. Since I have just received them and have yet to use them, I was wondering if any other FT’er had had experience with the Optima checks and if earning points was possible when using them. If points can be earned using the checks, than this could be a great point earning opportunity.